Don Pogreba is a current writer and retired teacher of English, Social Studies and Debate, and a loyal, if often sad, fan of the San Diego Padres and Portland Timbers. When he is not traveling, he is working on his classroom web site or dreaming about another adventure.
My dad returned just when I needed him most. The first fiery red bumps announced their presence on my face and arms the day he came home, the day he came home for the last time, to say goodbye. Sitting there in his battered old red pickup truck, I furiously scratched my skin, waiting for him to come out of the bar, where he had stopped...
A number of my friends on Facebook have recently shared lists of ten books that have had the most lasting impact on their lives and challenged others to do the same. I decided to cheat a little bit and post a separate category for childhood favorites and those that endured into adulthood. That there is no room on the list for The Great...
The Sisyphean task of teaching a class of students how to write interesting argumentative essays has begun again in earnest, with the first essay of the year assigned to my AP Language students. The topic I’ve chosen(the role of media violence in actual violence) certainly isn’t groundbreaking, as some told me they’ve already written it...
Two letters in class today, one from Wallace Stegner to a government agent, and one from Chief Seattle to President Pierce. I’ve always struggled with whether I should teach the “Seattle” letter, given its doubtful provenance, but the message seems to resonate with my students. From Wallace Stegner: “Something...
The year was 2014, and everybody was finally equal. I’ve been a teacher for fourteen years, thirteen in the Helena School District, and I’ve never been more nervous about my future as an educator. In the time I’ve spent as a teacher, I’ve endured some principals with dubious qualifications, a vacuum where a curriculum should have been...
Mount Rushmore Panoramic Road in Badlands Lodge Needles Highway Black Hills Burger Company Badlands National Park Devil’s Tower Badlands Overlook Lead, South Dakota Badlands Sunflowers Badlands Eastern Badlands Sunflower in the Badlands Badlands Buffalo Lonely Tree 1880 Train to Keystone Badlands Mining Museum in Lead, SD Wall Drug...
This was the trip of the open road, no itinerary, and free discovery. Renting a camper from Happy Camper and Iceland’s liberal laws about open camping meant I could drive where I wanted and sleep when and wherever I felt tired. Some of the best moments of this trip were entirely unplanned, like unexpectedly arriving at the...
Vesuvio Cafe Alcatraz Golden Gate Park Palace of Fine Arts Muir Woods Alcatraz Timshel The Mission Japanese Tea Gardens, Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate Rocinante, from Travels with Charley Chinatown Moray Eel Chinatown Light Lighthouse on the road from Salinas Alcatraz Chinatown Marin Headlands Golden Gate Little...